Canoe slalom world championships
Discussion
There is a world championship going on right now near London.
My wife and I went today as it is at the Lea Valley White Water Centre at Waltham Abbey and we only live 10 mins away.
I know very little about the sport apart from the basics but what a privilege to see competitors from around the world at the very pinnacle of their sport. To have such a venue now as a direct Olympic legacy is wonderful too.
I have been promising all year to visit the centre and have a white water rafting session but now I want to go canoeing.
Not sure I'm flexible enough to get in one these days though.
Going to the velodrome in a couple of weeks too for the first time. I expect to leave there wanting to wear Lycra and a pointy helmet.
My wife and I went today as it is at the Lea Valley White Water Centre at Waltham Abbey and we only live 10 mins away.
I know very little about the sport apart from the basics but what a privilege to see competitors from around the world at the very pinnacle of their sport. To have such a venue now as a direct Olympic legacy is wonderful too.
I have been promising all year to visit the centre and have a white water rafting session but now I want to go canoeing.
Not sure I'm flexible enough to get in one these days though.
Going to the velodrome in a couple of weeks too for the first time. I expect to leave there wanting to wear Lycra and a pointy helmet.
Canoeing is a bit like Junior Kick Start - it seems to have disappeared off the TV radar over the years.
I used to be a Scout Leader and had to pass several BCU certs in order to take lads out on different classes of water. Really enjoyed it and I competed at local club level, but to be honest I was never very good at it - was a bit too much hnaded, as it there were manoeuvres I could do to the right hand side that never felt good on the left hand side. (I could never manage to roll on both sides).
The slalom is a great sport to watch, you can really see the upper body strength at play.
We used to take new kids to a local swimming pool for their first encounter - not sure if that still happens, but it was a fantastic way to get them used to capsizing, nice warm water and no strong currents.
If you have even a tiny interest in trying it out I would really recommend you seek out a local club and give it a go.
One of my favourite memories is canoeing & camping along the Macclesfield Canal out past Bollington way.
Waking up at dawn and just gently paddling along with all the mist hanging over the canal and smells and sounds of summer.
I used to be a Scout Leader and had to pass several BCU certs in order to take lads out on different classes of water. Really enjoyed it and I competed at local club level, but to be honest I was never very good at it - was a bit too much hnaded, as it there were manoeuvres I could do to the right hand side that never felt good on the left hand side. (I could never manage to roll on both sides).
The slalom is a great sport to watch, you can really see the upper body strength at play.
We used to take new kids to a local swimming pool for their first encounter - not sure if that still happens, but it was a fantastic way to get them used to capsizing, nice warm water and no strong currents.
If you have even a tiny interest in trying it out I would really recommend you seek out a local club and give it a go.
One of my favourite memories is canoeing & camping along the Macclesfield Canal out past Bollington way.
Waking up at dawn and just gently paddling along with all the mist hanging over the canal and smells and sounds of summer.
i'm glad you enjoyed the racing!! i still train (race occassionally too!) in canoe slalom and thought the world champs in london were awesome, last year they also had a world cup event. the white water course there will definitely carry a long legacy from the olympics. the site gets lots of use for slalom training (GB senior teams relocated there from nottingham) and the centre is doing very well out of rafting etc.....
i was very pleased with the coverage and some of the results, i train with/ used to train with some of the paddlers that were racing. i love seeing my friends doing so well at the top of the sport.
wont be quite the same level of competition, but the british team will be having olympic trials/selection coming up in october/novemeber to pick the team for going to rio. again hopefully my friends will be in the mix for the places!
i was very pleased with the coverage and some of the results, i train with/ used to train with some of the paddlers that were racing. i love seeing my friends doing so well at the top of the sport.
wont be quite the same level of competition, but the british team will be having olympic trials/selection coming up in october/novemeber to pick the team for going to rio. again hopefully my friends will be in the mix for the places!
It really is a fabulous place and a true legacy facility. I would certainly be wanting to come down and watch some more. Without the inevitable restrictions a world championship has on wandering about.
It was a rare privilege to watch the absolute world class field doing what they do best. The ladies K1 on Saturday when we were there had, it seemed, every world, Olympic, European and national champions there.
I was aware the GB team had located to there. We live pretty local and you see an awful lot of cars around with canoes on top these days. I have a relative involved in running the Hockey and tennis centre on the Olympic Park and it's my sons hockey team home pitch. That's another tremendous legacy facility and there was the European Championship there a few weeks ago.
We are then off to the Velodrome for an evening watching world class track cyclists in a few weeks.
Blooming great living where we do with such easy access to all these venues.
It was a rare privilege to watch the absolute world class field doing what they do best. The ladies K1 on Saturday when we were there had, it seemed, every world, Olympic, European and national champions there.
I was aware the GB team had located to there. We live pretty local and you see an awful lot of cars around with canoes on top these days. I have a relative involved in running the Hockey and tennis centre on the Olympic Park and it's my sons hockey team home pitch. That's another tremendous legacy facility and there was the European Championship there a few weeks ago.
We are then off to the Velodrome for an evening watching world class track cyclists in a few weeks.
Blooming great living where we do with such easy access to all these venues.
yes the athletes at the world champs had quite a bit of experience, some paddlers have been around at the top for 10-15years winning different championships along the way. the world championships are actually better to watch than the olympics. at the olympics nations are limited to usually 1 boat per category, eg britain gets one K1 man, Woman, C1 and C2 boat, where at the worlds they get allowed 3 boats per category. nations like britain, france, czech, slovakia, germany....... the list goes on have lots of athletes capable of making podiums so the racing is a lot closer and interesting at the worlds.
if you are interested the next races there will be the olympic selection races 24/25/26th of october and the british open is 31st oct/1st nov.
if you are off to the velodrome, be prepared to go back and have a go yourself. I done the exact same with the glasgow velodrome, then went back and completed the course to get my track accreditation. its a lot of fun wizzing round the track, but my god are the banks steep at each end! oh and it bloody hurts when you go down!! when it goes wrong, it goes wrong quick, and if someone goes down in front, you are usually joining them quickly!
if you are interested the next races there will be the olympic selection races 24/25/26th of october and the british open is 31st oct/1st nov.
if you are off to the velodrome, be prepared to go back and have a go yourself. I done the exact same with the glasgow velodrome, then went back and completed the course to get my track accreditation. its a lot of fun wizzing round the track, but my god are the banks steep at each end! oh and it bloody hurts when you go down!! when it goes wrong, it goes wrong quick, and if someone goes down in front, you are usually joining them quickly!
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